Lawyer seeks release of German in Internet killing

January 20, 2014

BERLIN (AP) — The lawyer for a German police officer accused of killing and chopping up a man he met on the Internet is asking for his client’s release, saying new video evidence shows the victim killed himself.

Suspect Detlev G., 56, whose full name hasn’t been released, has been in custody since November on suspicion he killed a 59-year-old who had fantasized about being killed and eaten.

But attorney Endrik Wilhelm says a video recovered from his client’s property shows the victim hanged himself. He is asking the court to set the defendant free.

Dresden prosecutors’ spokesman Lorenz Haase wouldn’t comment on the video’s content Monday, but said “we’re still investigating the suspect for murder.”

Authorities say there’s no evidence the suspect ate parts of the victim and he denies doing so.